Implementation Phases

Require EV charging at new buildings.

Require EV charging when renovations are performed.

Require EV charging at all buildings.

Challenges

Electric chargers require 40 or 50 amp circuits which could challenge homeowners who have maxed out their open circuit slots in their electric service panel, requiring a sub panel to be installed.

Educating building inspectors and code officials.

Educating builders, architects, and owners about benefits.

Example Municipalities

Several municipalities have already implemented this action… 

• Atlanta, Georgia’s ordinance 17-O-1654 can serve as a model for municipalities in the Capital Region. Within the ordinance, Atlanta details its regulations building local EV infrastructure including requiring residential structures and a 1:5 ratio of EV charging stations per parking space throughout the city

Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Reductions

Data

Average new residential building construction per year: 65 [Town of Bethlehem Demographic and Growth Analysis 1991-2018, p.9]

Average number of miles per car per in NY : 11,871 miles [What is Average Mileage Per Year?, New York state ] 

GHG emission reduction when switching from gas car to EV : 50% [Electric Vehicles, Emissions and Fuel Economy] 

Assumptions

Every new residential unit has 2 cars.

Methodology

We calculated the:

1. Total number of cars each year in new constructed residential units.
2. Total CO2e per year by the average emissions by using conventional cars by all new households.
3. Total emission reduction when new households shift from gas to electric cars.

Result

310 metric tons of CO2e is reduced per year by switching from gas to electric cars by all the newly constructed houses with electric vehicle charging capability.

This results in MODERATE GHG emissions reductions.

Climate Smart Communities (CSC) & Clean Energy Communities (CEC) Link

This action is also related to CEC and CSC actions for which municipalities can earn points toward certification. The NYStretch building code includes a requirement for EV charging readiness. Municipalities that adopt the NYStretch building code can:  

CEC Actions:

• Access 1200 CEC points and also action grants up to $50k through CEC’s NYStretch Energy Code Action. After completing this CEC action, municipalities can also:

CSC Actions:

• Earn 10 CSC points through CSC’s PE6 Action: NYStretch Energy Code. 

Co-benefits

There are multiple co-benefits to completing this action, including:

• Accelerated transition to electric vehicles.
• Reduced costs of adding chargers during construction vs. adding later which may require new circuit breaker boxes.